The Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board on May 19 approved an outline of the training material that it will distribute to police agencies across the state. The goal is to create a uniform set of guidelines that police can rely upon to avoid violating civil rights while enforcing the new immigration law.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says that the county's top prosecutor is erecting barriers to enforcing a 5-year-old state law prohibiting immigrant smuggling and thus caused cases against 32 illegal immigrants to collapse.

Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley has taken a clear policy break from his predecessor when it comes to confronting illegal immigration. Romley on May 19 outlined a new plan that will shift the office's resources to focus on prosecuting criminal syndicates and drug cartels instead of undocumented immigrants.

Attorneys who alleged in a lawsuit that Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies racially profiled Latinos in their immigration sweeps have asked a federal judge to appoint a mediator to try to resolve the case.

Arizona's tough new law cracking down on illegal immigration is dividing police across the nation, pitting officers against their chiefs and raising questions about its potential to damage efforts to fight crime in Hispanic communities.